Gilbert Collard

Gilbert Georges Jean Camille René Collard (born 3 February 1948) is a French writer, barrister and politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of the National Rally (RN), he previously was the member of the National Assembly for the second constituency of Gard from 2012 until 2019. Collard has also served as Secretary-General of the Rassemblement bleu Marine (RBM) since 2012, a right-wing political association and think-tank supporting Marine Le Pen, officially distinct from the National Rally, the political party she leads.

Gilbert Collard
Collard at the 2010 Paris Book Fair
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
2 July 2019
ConstituencyFrance
Secretary-General of the
Rassemblement bleu Marine
Assumed office
22 September 2012
PresidentMarine Le Pen
Preceded byPosition established
Member of the National Assembly
for Gard's 2nd constituency
In office
19 June 2012 – 1 July 2019
Preceded byÉtienne Mourrut
Succeeded byNicolas Meizonnet
Personal details
Born
Gilbert Georges Jean Camille René Collard

(1948-02-03) 3 February 1948
Marseille, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyNational Rally (since 2018)
Other political
affiliations		French Section of the Workers' International (1964–1969)
Socialist Party (1969–1992)
Independent (1992–2017)
National Front (2017–2018)
Spouse(s)Anne-Marie Collard (m. 1987)
ResidenceGallician, Gard
Alma materAix-Marseille University
Panthéon-Assas University
ProfessionBarrister
Websitewww.gilbertcollard.fr

Biography

Early life and education

Gilbert Collard was born in Marseille. He studied law at Aix-Marseille University and Panthéon-Assas University. In his youth, he was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and subsequent Socialist Party (PS) until 1992.

Career and first involvement in politics
Gilbert Collard speaking to the press on 22 April 2012, the day of the first round of the presidential election, as a supporter of Marine Le Pen.

Collard started his career as a barrister in Marseille in 1971. He quickly became a well-known lawyer at the national level, often speaking in the media about cases he defended. He most notably had Laurent Gbagbo, Charles Pasqua, Marine Le Pen, Valérie Bègue, as well as Paul Aussaresses as clients. In 2001, he was an independent candidate for Mayor of Vichy. He was elected to the city's council but declined the mandate.

Member of the National Assembly

Collard later moved to Gallician, a town in Gard; he was elected to the National Assembly as a member of the RBM in the 2012 legislative election, at the same time as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen in Vaucluse.[1] He succeeded Étienne Mourrut of the Union for a Popular Movement, whom he had defeated.[2][3]

Since the 2014 municipal elections, Collard has also been a councillor of Saint-Gilles, Gard. On 17 April 2017, during a Marine Le Pen rally for the upcoming presidential election, an anti-fascist disrupter threw a Molotov cocktail towards him; he sustained minor injuries amid a quick reaction by police officers.[4] Gilbert Collard was reelected to the National Assembly in the 2017 legislative election. He officially joined the National Rally, then called National Front, later the same year.

Member of the European Parliament

Collard stood as a candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election. Following his election he resigned from the National Assembly.

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References
  1. Samuel, Henry (17 June 2012). "Marion Le Pen becomes youngest French MP in modern history". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  2. "2012 French legislative elections: Gard's 2nd constituency (first round and run-off)" (in French). Minister of the Interior (France). Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  3. Fouquet, Helene (17 June 2012). "Anti-Euro Le Pen Party Wins First Parliament Seats in 15 Years". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  4. Visé par un cocktail Molotov, le député FN Gilbert Collard dénonce "des idéologues fascisants" (in French), HuffPost. 17 April 2017.


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